Red Sox Nation -- which now extends all the way to Japan -- has proved what a powerful force it can be once again with Thursday's announcement that Hideki Okajima has won the American League's Monster 2007 All-Star Final Vote ballot.

Okajima is the third Red Sox player to win the Final Vote competition since its inception in 2002. Johnny Damon won the inaugural AL vote that summer, and Jason Varitek -- the current captain of the Red Sox -- captured the honor in 2003.

In the case of lefty reliever Okajima, he got massive support from two continents. Though Daisuke Matsuzaka was the player from Japan who got all the hype when the Red Sox acquired him over the offseason, Okajima has been every bit as valuable to the success of the team.

Given Okajima's Nintendo numbers -- a 2-0 record, a 0.88 ERA and 37 K's in 41 innings -- he obviously deserved to be at the game. Still, strong cases could be made for Tigers starter Jeremy Bonderman and Twins reliever/blogger Pat Neshek, as well.

Since the Red Sox are blowing up the Devil Rays 9-0 as I write this, I'll leave things be for now. Still, I'll be curious what Neshek, an aw-shucks type, has to say on his blog. As recently as this afternoon, the "Neshek campaign" was urging voters to get out and vote for Neshek and San Diego Padres starter Chris Young.